King Charles dealt huge blow as support for the monarchy plunges to 41-year low
A new survey reveals the British public's social attitudes in the latest blow to King Charles.
Royals: 'Alarm bells ringing' for monarchy as public support falls
The British public's support for the monarchy has dropped to a historic low as just over half, 54 percent, think it is "very" or "quite important" for Britain to have a monarchy, a new poll reveals as the Royal Family is faced with big challenges following King Charles and Princess Kate's cancer diagnoses.
A survey by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) shows that this is the lowest proportion on record since 1983, when nearly nine in 10 (86 percent) said that it was important to have a monarchy.
According to the research, support for the monarchy has been in decline over the last decade or so, with a temporary reversal after Elizabeth's death in September 2022, shortly after which more than six in 10 felt that having a monarchy was important.
But the decline has returned since King Charles's ascension to the throne, as a quarter of Brits (25 percent) now believe that either "the monarchy should be abolished" or that it is "not at all important", matching a figure first recorded in 2021, prior to the late Queen Elizabeth's death.
The institute said that younger people have always been less likely than older people to believe that it is "very important" for Britain to have a monarchy, though each successive generation has seemingly come to support the monarchy more as it has got older, and the gap in support between younger and older people has remained fairly stable.
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But, since 2021, the proportion of older people (those aged 55 and over) who say it is "very important" to have a monarchy has fallen below two in five (from 44 percent to 37 percent).
In contrast, the equivalent figure is little changed from that recorded in 2021 among both those aged less than 35 (13 percent vs. 14 percent in 2021) and those aged 35 to 54 (28 percent vs. 27 percent).
Gillian Prior, Deputy Chief Executive at the National Centre for Social Research, said: "NatCen has been collecting data on the public’s attitudes towards the monarchy for over 40 years, and it is clear we are observing a downward trend in support for the monarchy.
"Although the majority of the public still supports the monarchy, our latest British Social Attitudes survey shows the highest percentage yet, with 16% saying the monarchy should be abolished.
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"Support for the monarchy continues to be higher among older people than younger, although the gap has narrowed. There is a continuing challenge for the monarchy to maintain favourability with the British public of all ages."
It comes as the Royal Family is faced with unprecending challenges as two of its most senior royals, King Charles and Princess Kate, are currently out of action as they undergo treatment for their illnesses.
This, along with Prince William adjusting his schedule to support his family and Kate, and left only a handful working royals to juggle the workload.
